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The record label representing award-winning singer Jorja Smith has stated its desire to claim a share of earnings from a track it asserts was created using an AI "replica" of the singer's unique voice.

The track, titled 'I Run' by British dance act Haven, gained widespread traction on social media in October, partly due to its smooth soul singing by an unnamed female singer.

Despite its momentum and impending top 40 position in the UK and US, the track was subsequently banned by leading music services after music bodies issued copyright requests, alleging it violated copyright by imitating another artist.

Even though 'I Run' has now been re-released with completely new vocals, Smith's label, FAMM, insists it believes the initial recording was generated with AI trained on her body of work and is now seeking financial compensation.

A Broader Issue at Stake

"The situation is not only about one artist. This is bigger than a single performer or one song," the label wrote in a public announcement.

FAMM also expressed its belief that "each iterations of the track violate Jorja's rights and unjustly take advantage of the work of all the songwriters with whom she works."

Famous for songs like 'Be Honest' and 'Little Things', Smith was named Best British Female at the prestigious Brit Awards in 2019.

Implying that her fans were potentially misled by Haven's original track, the label added: "Our industry cannot permit this to become the standard practice."

Creators Admit Employing AI Technology

The duo behind the song have publicly admitted using AI during its creation.

Songwriter Harrison Walker explained that the original vocals were in fact his own but were heavily altered using AI music software Suno, sometimes referred to as the "ChatGPT for music".

In addition, the second producer, Waypoint, whose real name is Jacob Donaghue, stated on his accounts that AI was used to "give our starting vocal a female quality".

Donaghue and Walker assert that they wrote and created the music themselves and have even shared files of their original production sessions.

"It is no mystery that I used AI-powered vocal processing to convert exclusively my voice for 'I Run'," Walker elaborated.

"As a creator and maker, I enjoy using innovative technologies, techniques and staying on the cutting edge of industry trends," he continued.

"In order to set the record clear, the people behind HAVEN are actual and people, and all we aim to do is make enjoyable music for other humans."

Regulatory Uncertainty and Broader Implications

Although their first version of 'I Run' was suspended from major charts, the replacement version managed to break into the UK Top 40 recently.

FAMM has positioned the incident as a significant precedent for the entertainment sector's changing relationship with artificial intelligence.

The label argued it had "a duty to voice concerns" and "stimulate public discourse", because AI is advancing at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing legal oversight".

"AI-generated content should be clearly identified as such so that the audience may decide whether they consume it or not," the message continued.

Artists as 'Unintended Victims'

Smith endorsed her label's position on her personal social media profile.

The post cautioned that artists and creators were turning into "collateral damage in the race by policymakers and corporations towards AI supremacy".

It further stated that the label would distribute any potential songwriting credits with the writers behind Smith's catalogue.

"Should we are able in establishing that AI helped to compose the words and melody in 'I Run' and are granted a share of the song, we would aim to assign each of Jorja's collaborators with a corresponding share," it explained.

The Continuing Growth of AI Music

The emergence of AI-generated music has been a topic of both interest and anxiety for the entertainment world.

• In June, the band Velvet Sundown gathered millions of plays before disclosing they used AI to help develop their sound.
• Recently, an AI-generated "artist" called Breaking Rust topped a US genre digital song sales chart, demonstrating that listeners are not always averse to hearing AI-made music.
• Suno was last year taken to court for alleged violations by the world's three largest record labels, though those cases have since been settled.

Following this, Warner Music entered into a partnership with the firm, which will enable users to generate songs using the voices, names, and likenesses of Warner acts who opt in to the program.

Yet, it is unclear how many established artists will agree to such uses of their identity.

Recently, a group of prominent musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and Kate Bush issued a vinyl album featuring silent songs or recordings of empty studios in protest to proposed revisions to copyright law.

They contend these changes would make it simpler for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without obtaining a license.